The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-01-31

81 killed that man and woman be
cause they were my parents"
"Now listen to me and Judge me"
"a woman was secretly delivered o.
a son and sent him far away, some
where, to n professional nurse DID
she even know whittier her accomplish
bore the little innocent creature-in
nocent, yet doomed to endless misery
to worse than to death, since he was
alb andoned, since the nurse, failing tC
receive the monthly stipend, might,
as nurses often do, let the child waste
away. suffer from hunger, die from
neglect?
"The woman who nursed me
was honest--more honest, more noble,
moro OF O woman, more OF a
mother than my own mother She
brought me up. She erred in thus
doing her duty. Better far to leave
such children to perish-such misera'
BILE foundlings cast away at the out
skirts OF villages, even as refuse is
dumped beyond the limits OF towns.
81 grew up with a vague idea that
l bore the brand OF d disgrace. The
other children called me bastard one
day. They did not know what the
word meant-one of them having that
day heard ii uttered for the first time
by his parents. did not know what
it meant either-but felt it.
81 may state that l was one OF the
most intelligent boys in the school.
| would have been an upright man,
your Honor-perhaps a man above
the common run-if my parents had
not committed the crime OF abandon
ing me.
"That crime was committed against
me. | was the victim-they were the
| criminals. | was helpless-they were
pitiless. They ought to have loved me
they flung me from them,
al owed them my ife-but is life q
| gift? Mine, at all events, was simply a
curse. After their shameful abandon.
ment OF me, / owed them nothing but
revenge. They perpetrated against me
| the most inhuman, the most mon
strous act which 1t is possible to com
NIT against human being.
"The man who is cursed at strikes
back; the man who is robbed seeks to
wrest back from the robber by force,
that which belongs to him. The man
who is duped, Knocked, martyrized.
kills; the man who has his face slapped
in public, kills; the man who is dis
honored, kills. | have been worse
robbed, worse duped, worse martyr.
lied, worse insulted, and dishonored
morally than any one OF those whose
anger you might condone.
81 have avenged myself; have kill.
ed. That was my legitimate right ]
took their happy life away, in exchange
for that hideous life which they impos'
ed upon me.
"You may talk OF parricide! Were
they ever to be considered my parents
these people by whom / was ragard-
ed merely as an abominable burden,
O. terror, q load OF infamy-these peo.
pie for whom my birth was calam.
ity, and my life u perpetual menace oil
shame? They sought only their own
egotlstical will, they had child they
did not want. They suppressed that
child. And my turn came at last to
suppress them likewise.
"And, nevertheless, it is only little
while ago, that was ready to leave
| them.
"About two years ago, as have al
ready told you, the man who was my
father entered my shop for the first
time. had no suspicion then. He
ordered two articles offurniture made,
He had previousfy-as | afterward
learned-made inquiries about me OF
the parish priest, under promise Of
secrecy. as you may well imagine.
"He came back often; gave me plenty
of work to do, and paid me well. Some
times he would even converse with me
about this topic or that topic-differ'
ent things. l felt an affectlonate 10
gard for him.
About the commencement OF the
year he brought to my place, for the
first time, his wife-my mother. When
she came in she trembled so much that
/ at first supposed her to be afflicted
with some nervous disease. Then she
asked for q chair and a glass OF water.
She said nothing; she stared at my
furniture like crazy woman; and when
he asked her anything she could only
answer, Yes No. at random.
By the time she left l had begun to
think that her mind was slightly al
fected.
"She came again the following
month. That time she was calm
and self-possessed. They gave me
quite a large order, and chatted
with me for quite considerable time.
| saw her three times more after that
without suspecting anything; but, 10
and behold, one day she began to